Fabric London Press Website

Press Release: fabric 42 - Âme

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:11:31 -0700

fabric 42 Artwork

Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann (collectively known as Âme) were born in Karlsruhe, South Germany. Kristian grew up in Mannheim whilst Frank remained in Karlsruhe. Even now despite the electronic music worlds current migration to Berlin, they both agree Karlsruhe is still the city for them to continue their musical journey.

Frank spent his early days exploring the vast worlds of jazz and contemporary classical music, immersed in piano lessons with very encouraging and open-minded music teachers. While he tinkered away in Karlsruhe, Kristian meanwhile in Mannheim was too busy shirking his guitar lessons in order to play football and collect records. The latter hobby paid off when at 25 whilst taking a civil engineering degree; Kristian had the opportunity to open a record shop with a friend. Having moved back to Karlsruhe to study, it was only a matter of time before Frank, the like-minded electronically inclined record collector began frequenting Kristians shop.

Continue reading "Press Release: fabric 42 - Âme"

Press Release: FABRICLIVE 41 - Simian Mobile Disco

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:23:49 -0700

FABRICLIVE.41 Artwork

Life after bands: an idea with the most negative of implications. But there is indeed much vibrant life, brimming with heart and soul, left for James Ford and Jas Shaw, collectively known as Simian Mobile Disco. The name for their production/DJing outfit sings ballads about their musical history, from the very first word Simian, a psychedelic indie band that had its moment of taking over the world in the early noughties, with Jas on guitar and James keeping time on drums. Simian celebrated two critically acclaimed albums, globe-encompassing tours, working with Brian Eno (on their second album, We Are Your Friends, in 02), even songs being featured in international adverts (most notably in a Peugeot 1007 advertisement) but, like all good things, an end was inescapable.

James: With Simian, we were signed to Virgin
Jas: It was actually a small label called Source that was eaten by Virgin, which was part of its downfall. The band kind of split up at the end of a cruel, hot tour in the states, but probably for the best. I think what made Simian interesting was the sort of tensions within, particularly musically but we were pulling more in an electronic direction, up until the point that it was actually not so productive.
James: Jas and I had already started DJing while we were in the band. We started out playing really eclectic sets, because it was more what we wanted to hear wed play stuff like Sun Ra, Raymond Scott, really all over the shop. But we really, really enjoyed it, and that was the main thing. Then when the band split up, we sort of carried on DJing. Wed already started doing a few remixes while we were in the band, and we were also making mixtapes that represented our DJ sets at the time; some of them got printed up by the label mixtapes called Simian Mobile Disco. They were just little promos, but thats where we made the name up; because we were in Simian, it was just a jokey name. If wed thought about that band ending and this being a new band, we wouldve made up a new name, but it didnt work like that.
Continue reading "Press Release: FABRICLIVE 41 - Simian Mobile Disco"

Press Release: fabric 41 - Luciano

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:04:00 -0700

fabric 41 Artwork

Like symbiosis, like the yin and yang, like your left and right hands, there is something both so free and passionate, yet also so technological, somewhat clinical, even precise and methodical about Lucianos music which onlookers always suggest is a reaction to him moving from Switzerland to Santiago, Chile when he was about 11 or 12. The suggestion that his music is directly correlated to those worlds colliding is not necessarily obtuse. Some parts minimal, deep techno and scientific electro, some parts southern rhythms and colourful melodies, making the identity of his music especially soulful as it seeps from a more alkaline space.

My father used to fix juke boxes for a living so we had many, many records. A lot of disco, some French music, a lot of the hits, but the good hits! We had a lot of music at home, always. Neither of my parents were musicians but they loved music. My mother gave me a guitar when I was younger, thats when I first started to get into music. She gave it to me when we first moved to Chile. I was by myself often because I didnt know many people at the beginning. My father is Swiss and my mother is Chilean. I moved from Switzerland to Santiago, Chile when I was about 11 or 12. Because my mother is Chilean, we already knew the language and we were a little bit used to the culture. Still, everything changed completely the rules, everything. But the best time of my life was in Chile for sure; Ive always felt like Chiles my home. Chiles really amazing, its a beautiful country. Guitar was a really good outlet so I was playing a lot at that time. In school, we had a band and I played in that. It was kind of like punk music, a little bit, and I was the backup singer and guitar player. I wasnt really singing, more like shouting. Luciano.
Continue reading "Press Release: fabric 41 - Luciano"

Press Release: FABRICLIVE 40 - Noisia

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:53:27 -0700

FABRICLIVE.40 Artwork

While the renaissance of jungle is filling the dancefloors and stereos of drumnbass lovers the globe over, there is still a more scientific or sinister element burning bright alongside the rewinds of the masses. More jump-up than jungle, and perhaps originally suggested in the early work of deep science pioneers like Krust, Matrix, TeeBee and Ed Rush & Optical, this deeply shadowy future tek drumnbass uses a relentless and complex collection of upfront dark beats and moody soundscapes to encase the ears and get the dancefloor ready to strike, but also carries an intricate subtlety of skill in production, perhaps witnessed more in the glitch genre, than those hailing a constant repetition of Amens. NOISIA, consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen all from The Netherlands, are new forbearers of this more turgid sound, and use their FABRICLIVE 40 mix to run the gamut of dark shadowy delight in all things drumnbass. Featuring many Noisia tracks from their own two imprints Vision and Division Recordings, as well as labels Ninja Tune, Quarantine and Virus, this mix is a serious throttle to the senses, commanding dancefloors around the world to stand to attention.

Were not physically angry people. Were not that good at it or, at least, Im not good at writing happy stuff, even though sometimes Id love to write something thats nice. Sometimes Ive managed to pull it off and write something nice, but the happy stuff I dont mind it but Im just not really good at writing it, I dont really know how. Nik, Noisia

Continue reading "Press Release: FABRICLIVE 40 - Noisia"

Press Release: fabric 40 - Mark Farina

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:44:56 -0700

fabric 40 Artwork

Music has ruled Mark Farinas every step, since his vibrant youth: days spent marching routines with a trumpet in his Chicago high schools band blurred into wild nights stomping around hardcore and punk shows. Eventually persuading his parents to allow him to ditch the brass bugle and bring a drum set into the house, Mark held the beat down for a New Wave alternative cover band (reworking The The, The Smiths, The Cure, Front 242, Ministry and the like) that tore through countless garages, gymnasiums, churches and Battle of the Bands. As Marks musical tastes took a turn for the electronic, he dove head-first into the luscious world of turntables and nightclubs, a shift reflected by his band becoming the high schools first to incorporate a drum machine in its setup. Zealously weaving in and out of late-night teen clubs in-between his electronic bands shows, Mark celebrated his first solo DJ gig at the Chicagoan underage mecca, Medusas, at the age of 16.
Continue reading "Press Release: fabric 40 - Mark Farina"

Press Release : GROWL - RADIOACTIVE MAN (Control Tower Records with fabric)

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:26:45 -0800

GROWL Artwork

In collaboration with fabric, Control Tower Records presents the new album GROWL from acclaimed producer
RADIOACTIVE MAN.

Can squelchy Brit acid be digestible, even maybe feel good to slide down the throat and swallow into the belly? Equal parts sharp spikes and vicious intent, fueling the warmth of beloved sweeping acid-laced soundscapes with a punk funk push, RADIOACTIVE MANS long awaited new album GROWL certainly makes the case for menacingly beautiful electronica that spreads straight from your belly to your hips and feet. Undeniably influenced from his Two Lone Swordsmen work and his love for that Sabresonic sound, this album of future classic acid, emotional electro and techno breakbeat dub post rock cool oddness, featuring vocal tracks from Andrew Weatherall and Dot Allison, is a quirk in the eye of electronica pushing you to the dancefloor with both feet forward. Shove all the rubbish music from your desk, make yourself a mug of something warm and sweet, press play and give in. GROWL is nothing short of an absolute gem; a perfect example of the kind of brilliantly produced sophisticated electronic music that has become a fiercely British sound; that makes the listener both happy and proud to understand where its come from, (even if we all thought this sound had been silenced by some deafening irony swathed puerile/trendy wave). Thank god Mr Tenniswood is bringing us back to our senses, ears, mind and heart first.
Continue reading "Press Release : GROWL - RADIOACTIVE MAN (Control Tower Records with fabric)"

Press Release: FABRICLIVE 39 - DJ Yoda

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:32:11 -0800

FABRICLIVE.39 Artwork

Weve all been there at one point: sat in our bedrooms, making homemade pause/record mixes with our tape decks, convinced that someday our names would grace music history books alongside Grandmaster Flash, Steinski and Jazzy Jeff. But alas, our mixtapes that couldve made Spinbad sweat have been chewed up and acquired nothing but dust, and cut n paste has sadly become a term that causes even the strongest of us to shudder, as we recall a grueling day in the office struggling with Excel. But one DJ, hailing from North London, held tight to his dreams; his undamaged mixtapes have only gotten more polished and famed as he continues to commandeer the cut n paste fight the irreplaceable, definitive hip hop protagonist, DJ Yoda.

Surrounded by music from his very onset, with both parents avidly working in the industry (his father a manager of legendary artists such as Eddy Grant and Eurhythmics; his mother working for various producers), even young Duncan Beinys bedroom was no escape, being the storage space for his dads abundant record collection. His fathers cherished pop records were thoroughly ruined when Duncan began learning to scratch at the ripe age of 15. Originally DJing under the name DJ Beiny (actually his first two initials and surname), it was a Yoda toy that sat by his turntables that ultimately gave him a DJ name that stuck when he was 19 years old. His combined loves of quirky pop music and 90s hip hop became fused and intertwined on home-made demo mixtapes, at first modestly distributed amongst the smaller of record shops. They eventually caused such a stir on the underground hustle by the year 2000, over 5,000 were being distributed around the country - that it caught the attention of Antidote Records, through whom he released three consecutive volumes of an official mixtape series titled How To Cut & Paste. Entertaining, sentimental, kitsch and musically unbound, the mixtape series brought an accessible sense of humour to what had essentially become the serious, elitist world of hip hop.

From around 2000, hip hop went downhill for me. It was getting a bit samey for me, all the best stuff was out in the early 90s. It was the rawness, you know? Now I think a lot of middle class, happy people are making it, whereas for me a lot of the best music comes out of frustration, anger and difficult times. I just think that hip hop has become safe. To me, Im a hip hop DJ but my understanding of hip hop means you play everything. The style you play it in makes it hip hop for me. Its why Ill play anything from TV themes to kids music to religious music it can be anything. But I think if you know how to scratch or can feel a beat, then youre a hip hop DJ. DJ Yoda
Continue reading "Press Release: FABRICLIVE 39 - DJ Yoda"

Press Release: Fabric 39 - Robert Hood

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:25:31 -0800

Fabric 39 Artwork

In an era where credit is rarely given when due, a lot of todays so-called minimal enthusiasts may not actually be familiar with its creator: its near impossible to find anyone who can rival the magnificence and innovation of Robert Hood. With an absolute, visionary state of mind, Hood has been one of the most extraordinary and forward-thinking artists in the history of techno. Hes regarded by some of the biggest names in electronic music as being one of the founding fathers of technos development, yet some of the newer faces to minimal are none the wiser.

Raised primarily on Motown in Detroit, Robert Hoods family was enveloped in music: his mother recorded a 45 locally, his uncle managed jazz and R&B bands, his grandmothers first cousin was Berry Gordy, his father was a jazz musician (piano, drums, and trumpet). Robert followed his fathers footsteps at a young age, picking up trumpet in the school band. But, distracted by youth, it wasnt long before he swapped the trumpet for vinyl, obsessively focussing on the arrangements, musicality and instrumentation of the records he cherished. His zealous interest in production guided him to a pawn shop, where he picked up some basic equipment and began recording demos. Unable to find someone able to do some kind of political abstract MCing a cross between Chuck D and Q-Tip, Robert laid down his own lyrics on his productions. Eventually, a fortuitous introduction to a well-connected musician, Mike Clark (a.k.a. Agent X), led to him eventually pass on a demo to a key player in underground Detroit, Mike Banks. Instantly enamoured with his lyrical styling, Mike Banks and Jeff Mills took Robert on board as an MC for 2 tracks on a compilation they were putting together. As Roberts productions grew stronger, the incomparable Underground Resistance crew formed, putting political outrage to an experimental beat, and Robert found his place as a seminal member, the Minister of Information. With UR, Robert forged a path for himself, creating a simple yet powerful sound that fully encompassed the Detroit ethos, but also pushed unparalleled levels of imagination.

Continue reading "Press Release: Fabric 39 - Robert Hood"

Press Release: FABRICLIVE 38 - Craze

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:20:17 -0800

FABRICLIVE.38 Artwork

Crazes life is a legacy of rags to riches, geek to chic, no-name to world fame. He never had it easy from fleeing battle in Nicaragua at the age of 3 to a geeky adolescence to Hurricane Andrew hitting Miami in 1992 nor did have ever have any coattails to ride; his is a story thats an uphill battle, but a story that ends right at the top. My mom always taught me I could do anything I put my mind to. So when she asked what I wanted to do with my turntables, I told her, Be the best DJ in the world, Craze casually laughs. And that he proved 3 times at the DMC World Championships, an unprecedented record, and a title that no other solo DJ has yet to match. While Craze is regarded internationally and unquestionably as one of the best scratch DJs in the world, its still astonishing to see his overwhelming number of titles on paper: Craze has won first place for the USA DMC Championships 1998, World ITF Scratch Off Championships 1998, ITF Western Hemisphere Scratch Off Championships (1998, 99), Winter Music Conference Scratch Off Champion (1996, '97, '98, '99), East Coast DMC Championships (1997), East Coast Rap Sheet Championships (1996) and Zulu National Championships (1995, '96), to name but a few. Additionally, DJ Craze claimed 2nd place in the first DMC Team Championship with his Allies crew (which included fellow champions A-Trak and Infamous) in 1999 and then in 2000, the Allies won the Team Championship title, taking it from the previous years winners the Scratch Perverts.

I won the DMCs when I was 20. I joined the Regionals, won that, Nationals, won that, and then won the Worlds. And I took it from A-Trak thats right! But he was only like 15 when I beat him. I was still scared. Then in that year, in 98 when I beat A-Trak in the [DMC] Worlds, I didnt wanna battle no more and I thought hed be the icing on the cake, so instead we formed the Allies and we kicked everybodys butt. (laughs) Except the [Scratch] Perverts, they beat us once in the US, but then we came over here to London and we kicked their butt. So hey, paybacks a bitch, Tony! - Craze

Continue reading "Press Release: FABRICLIVE 38 - Craze"

Press Release: Fabric 38 - M.A.N.D.Y

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:10:16 -0800

Fabric 38 Artwork

Its not often that two people discover a friendship as special as the Berlin-based creative duo M.A.N.D.Y. (Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung). Two kindred souls drawn to one another at a young age, throughout their many harmonious years of acquaintance theyve shared complementary callings in life. The first call rang when Patricks family moved from Zurich to Saarbrücken at the age of 15; his friendship with Philipp was immediate and vibrant, and the inseparable pair immersed themselves in sports, compilation tapes, Tears For Fears and Janis Joplin records.

Individually, Philipp kept busy shirking his keyboard lessons and borrowing his friends drum kit, while Patrick delved deeply into art and painting. When some older friends filled their stereos with Chicago mixtapes and the sounds of early acid house in the late 80s, their lifelong obsessive love with electronica began. It was only a short matter of time before their lives were overtaken: days spent in record shops revolved into bright nights in Frankfurts glittery clubs and parties, weeks bled into months. University pulled them apart as the years flew by, both heading to different cities to pursue their studies (Patrick in Frankfurt studying economics, Philipp in Switzerland to study hotel and tourism), but they eventually came back around to each other in Frankfurt to pursue their passions, specifically their insatiable appetite for parties.

In 95, we were reunited again and because no one wanted to book us, we started our own nights. We used to have performances at the beginning of our parties, really wild art performances, just to break the ice. Our guests were unknown at the time but are quite famous now Ata from Playhouse, Ricardo [Villalobos] - it was all good friends for no money. Normally we had two rooms; one would be the chill-out room, it was really calm and easy music. For this one party we rented this really nice underground club we went to the woods and cut down 50 young trees and put them in our chill-out room to make it like a jungle. We put green lights behind it and we made a little beer garden inside the room. We were the only guys there to clean it up in the morning; you can imagine how fun that was! It was crazy. At the time, I dont think very many people did it with such love, we were never doing it to make money. But then some of our parties we would get over 1,000 people. We never used any ads for the parties; we didnt have any money at the time, so we went out 3 or 4 weeks every night and would invite every person personally we would make a tour of every bar and every club extending invites. We never put flyers up or left them anywhere; we just gave them out personally to people. M.A.N.D.Y.

Continue reading "Press Release: Fabric 38 - M.A.N.D.Y"

Press Release: FABRICLIVE 37 - Caspa & Rusko

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:33:20 -0700

FABRICLIVE.37 Artwork

Many turn the last month of the year into a merciless chasm-filling throng of merriment and shiny cheer; and we are no different. Although were not ones to embrace the commercial surface; we draw our happiness from below. And we mean way down low, propelled by a constant, almost omnipresent sub bass, mirth drowned deep in tension, dark delicious moody music and for many the future sound of London. Thats happiness, masked as dubstep delivered readily by two of the new guard of sub soldiers, Caspa & Rusko. FABRICLIVE 37: CASPA & RUSKO is an almost perfect blend of dark narcotic melancholy and up front torrential dancefloor delight, all wrapped in cavity filling ridiculous low-end bass destruction and delay.

Brought together by a love of each others music, Caspa (25-year old Gary McCann) and Rusko (22 year old Chris Mercer) are considered part of a new breed of dubstep talent, sweeping the deep furrows of ground laid bare by peers like Digital Mystikz, Iration Steppas, Kode9, Skream and Benga, mixed with their own jump up comical party fresh and somewhat relentless sound. Coming together from Leeds and London with mutual loves of dub reggae, drumnbass, hip hop, and as fans of their own scene, Caspa & Rusko have been DJing and producing for just a few years, yet have been representing the dubstep dream the globe over as music fans from all corners draw them into a constant stream of performance and release requests. Their musical roots are somewhat similar, with both having delighted in their musically involved upbringings.
Continue reading "Press Release: FABRICLIVE 37 - Caspa & Rusko"

Press Release: Fabric 37 - Steve Bug

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:57:02 -0700

Fabric 37 Artwork

Innovator, minimal dance connoisseur, tech house master - though hes been given many prestigious titles, if theres one quality that can be best attributed to Steve Bug, it would be modesty. Its a trait that has followed him throughout his illustrious career, from his early days as a child building guitars out of cardboard, to his early lessons in percussion at school ( In school, I was always forced to play percussion my teachers wouldnt give me the flute or any other instrument I didnt even get the full kit just the drum sticks and maybe a triangle!), to his beginnings as a mixtape DJ (Id never really thought of playing in clubs; I was only really recording tapes for myself), to his first productions (The first few productions set my course - Tobias really liked them and wanted to put them out. I was a bit unsure as, like the mixtapes from years ago, they were more for me, not to impress others.). Despite the fact that hes now largely regarded as one of the founding fathers of minimal creating his Da Minimal Funk compilation over 10 years ago and one of the most sought-after 4/4 DJs booked today, Bug remains truly humble when reflecting on the majestic rise from his beginnings as a dancefloor-dwelling clubber in Bremen, Germany to ruling his renowned Dessous/Poker Flat empire in Berlin.

I had a kick start [because of Rising High], but it didnt really help my career. Not that many people were interested or noticed that anything was happening besides hard techno / trance. I did a couple of more tracks for Superstition and a few parties but the rest of the label was moving in a different direction than I was. Not feeling comfortable with being part of a collective that had nothing to do with me and the music I was into, we decided to form a new label and forum for other artists who shared my musical taste and to give them a platform to express themselves also. We rethought Raw Elements and decided to start all over again with a new fresh concept. Thats how Poker Flat was born, with Loverboy as our first release. Steve Bug
Continue reading "Press Release: Fabric 37 - Steve Bug"

Press Release: FABRICLIVE 36 - James Murphy & Pat Mahoney

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:33:37 -0700

FABRICLIVE.36 Artwork

Pat Mahoney brought up on an intriguing diet of folk music and, funnily enough, in the white suburbs of Ithaca, New York, reggae developed an insatiable appetite for music and rhythm from the very start. When he turned 13, he traded in his saxophone for a PA and a mic, becoming lead singer of his first punk band, Distorted View. Three years of basements, garages, coffee houses, and his first manager (It was fucking fun. We had a manager who was like 17 and had a car; he would take us to shows. He had a car that had no foot floor, it was just the street running by underneath it), and eventually Distorted View made a turn for goth. Unhappy with this musical direction, Pat instead taped a pair of drum sticks to his hands and picked up a white Pearl Export drum kit for an onslaught of basement punk shows with his second band, The Five Deadly Diseases (each of the five members named after a disease - Chris Syphilis, for example). A few years and an art school education later, Pat was recording for his next band, Les Savy Sav and found himself a good friend in their sound engineer, the indie/punk home-studio recording guru James Murphy.

Raised in the equally sheltered streets of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, James Murphy had garnered himself a reputation as a live and studio engineer (recording bands on my 4-track for sandwiches) after a lifetime of starring in various bands himself. Subsequent to his first band at the age of 12, The Mystery Meats, the band names flew in over the years The Extremes, ? (We were just a question mark for a while, pre-Prince, just the symbol, I mean, not pre-Prince existence, but pre-Prince being the symbol. And pre-!!!), Pony, Speedking but James always found time to balance producing, recording, engineering and performing. Humble but foretelling beginnings for someone that, a decade later, is now heralded as a hugely important figure in electronic music; the disco infiltrator thats considered largely responsible for fusing dance and punk music. As the leading man and lyricist of his musical project LCD Soundsystem, the quintet has celebrated two Grammy nominations (for their self-titled debut LP LCD Soundsytem and the classic Daft Punk Is Playing At My House) and received fantastic critical acclaim for their second album released earlier this year, Sound of Silver. Throughout it all, his best mate Pat Mahoney keeps time on drums and keeps his company on tour for LCD Soundsystem, and the two now have the divine opportunity to explore the globe with the bands relentless schedule. But flashing back to the fateful day Pat first came into James studio, precisely at the point that dissatisfaction with noise bands and indie rock had reached a halting climax for both of them, their introduction to each other and to dance music was an ecstatic one.
Continue reading "Press Release: FABRICLIVE 36 - James Murphy & Pat Mahoney"

Press Release: Fabric 36 - Ricardo Villalobos

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:42:08 -0700

Fabric 36 Artwork

Ricardo Villalobos, an artist in the truest sense of the word, has the incredible ability to passionately create within the realms of one of electronic musics most pared down and perhaps consciously restrictive genres, yet create his own sound, his own expansive dynamic, to be shared with the rest of the world. Incorporating this sonic vision into a DJing schedule heaving beyond most human limits, Ricardo spends his nights (and often mornings) engaging in sets that detonate with drums and low-end frequencies on soundsystems across the globe. And, as his notoriously epic sets often shimmy into the after-after-after-hours, in his path of musical demolition he leaves dancefloors littered with a loving army of longstayers, demanding more than the usual 5-hours from their leader. Its not difficult to find this passion for expression deeply rooted in Ricardos psyche comes from his very beginnings of life, having been forced to flee his fathers homeland in Chile due to a violent military coup [General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratic government of Salvador Allende in 1973]. Though it was difficult to leave the many legendary musicians from his Chilean side of the family, the move to his mothers native land, Germany, offered Ricardo the chance to discover alternative ways of life. At the age of 10, his keen interest in African, South American and samba music led him to explore his love of percussion.

I started to play conga and bongos; I was listening to percussive and South American music at the time. In a way, the electronic music we listen to when we dance is very similar to African and South American percussion music. On one hand, you have the percussion, like Samba, where people are dancing for hours and days its the same rules and ideas behind techno: to make people go crazy, lose their realities, let go. This is happening with percussive music. It was a clear path, or it was a normal consequence, to go from acoustic percussive music to electronic percussive music. All my knowledge I have about percussion, I put into electronic music of course. When I was a kid, I was very often in situations with percussion sessions, for hours, the whole night. My parents had friends that owned concert agencies so we heard so many Southern American musicians and sessions. I was just a little kid, always looking on and recognising something that was making people dance. This has always really fascinated me. As a musician, you are searching for that your whole life. Im constantly on a search for the truth about the dance floor - why do people dance, whats the secret behind it. Ricardo Villalobos

Continue reading "Press Release: Fabric 36 - Ricardo Villalobos"

Press Release: FABRICLIVE.35 - Marcus Intalex

press@fabriclondon.com (admin) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:12:55 -0700

FABRICLIVE 35 Artwork

Marcus Intalex, king of the more soulful and innovative side of drumnbass, sits in a slightly uncomfortable position on his throne. On one hand, hes involved in a vibrant, well-supported scene that allows him to play music around the world; on the other, he doesnt quite fit in with the bulk of the scene. But why should he have to compromise himself to the popular tunes that now reign on the dnb charts? Sure, the kids want to hear them, but hes not a kid anymore.

Hes a veteran thats survived a lot, in fact - the initial revolution of dnb (and dance music, for that matter); the building of a close-net scene in Manchester with his mates L Double and ST Files; the development of an incredible and staggering back catalogue of hugely celebrated tunes, mixes and dnb classics; the creation of Soul:r, the label that receives praise and appreciation across all scenes; the growth of his distinguished DJing schedule...the list is immeasurable. So perhaps his general stance in the media, often posed as miserable tyrant (despite his lovely and jocose demeanour), is understandable, as his accrued wisdom has left him somewhat unhappy with the current state of his livelihood and beloved genre.

Sometimes its really difficult because - as the popular sound is moving away from what we do and our sound - I do go to DJ at some places and the crowd really doesnt like it. Its just hard sometimes. You kinda gotta take it the way it is. I dont change my sound because the crowds not into it, I cant. I literally cant, because I dont even have the popular tunes that most people like I refuse to take them with me, thats not what Im about. Some gigs are more difficult now then they used to be, but then, on the other hand, these days when we go to some places, theres a specific crowd that supports what we do. With our music, we need to have a no-compromise attitude: this is us, take it or leave it - Im very sorry if you dont like it, but this is what it is. And thats what we get booked for. We dont get booked because Andy Cs busy, know what I mean? It doesnt work like that! I just do my thing; Ive always stuck to my guns. Marcus Intalex

Continue reading "Press Release: FABRICLIVE.35 - Marcus Intalex"